When Worlds Collide: The Untold Stories
by AlexJohnD
Summary: A series of one-shots that contain the previously untold details from my story "When Worlds Collide". Each story will have its own description.
1. First Impressions

**TITLE: First Impressions**

**SUMMARY: When Hiccup met Toothless, he was scared, amazed, and mildly star struck. But what was Toothless thinking and experiencing? A thank you gift to Warrior Nun for the amazing cover art for WWC.**

**CORRESPONDING CHAPTERS FROM MAIN STORY: 2, 4, and 5**

* * *

Toothless grunted affirmatively before hanging up the phone. Whenever RD called, he tried to use as few words as possible. Toothless didn't like the man, so the fewer words he could exchange with him, the better.

The phone calls were generally telling him what exactly had to be done. In this case, a man who owed RD money had gone into hiding. Toothless had to hunt him down and get the money. If the man couldn't pay, he was to be "taught a lesson." RD's words, not his. He didn't have to kill him because while he tried to hide, he wasn't very good at it.

Glancing down at his watch, Toothless saw that it was currently just before seven. He had an idea of where the man would be, and he decided to leave right away. Putting his handgun in his belt and brushing some lint off of his shoulder, Toothless stood from the leather chair and walked out of his office. After going down the hallway and the stairs into the garage, Toothless walked over to his lockbox of keys. Wanting something not too conspicuous in case he needed to make an easy getaway, he selected the Maserati.

As he walked over to the car he noticed that the mechanic was already gone. The man was always so quick, Toothless had no idea how he did everything so fast. But the cars never had any problems so Toothless had no reason to complain.

As usual there was traffic heading into Manhattan, but it was worse than Toothless thought it would be. Regardless, he arrived at the alley on East 32nd just past eight. Getting out of the car he brushed a couple of wrinkles out of his Armani suit and headed into the alley.

It only took Toothless a moment before he zoomed in on his target, standing by the back door to a condo that was near the street. He was smoking a cigarette and facing the other way. Why the man always hid at his daughter-in-law's condo when he was "hiding" Toothless would never understand. But at least it made his job easier.

"Hello Frank," Toothless said as he walked up behind him.

"Oh, Toothless! Hi! How-how are you?" Frank stuttered, clearly surprised to see Toothless. He was a short and stout man of eastern European descent. He ran his hands through his short, greasy black hair, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Knock it off Frank. We both know why I'm here," Toothless said in an unforgiving voice. Toothless really was a nice person and he hated having to act like this, but he knew that if he didn't, no one would take him seriously.

"I'm guessing the loan payment. How much was it again?"

"Are you joking me? It's $10000. Now do you have it or not?" Toothless demanded.

"Right, right. So, um, how about this…."

"Frank!" Toothless nearly yelled. "Cut the garbage. Do you have the money or not?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have the money! But please, I just need some more time!" Frank nearly cried as he started to panic.

"You've had lots of time! This is the third time you are late this month! Something must be done," Toothless said, anger present in his voice yet with a calm tone.

"I'll do anything! Please!" Frank started to beg.

"I'm afraid I have no choice," Toothless replied as he pulled his gun out of its holster.

"No, NO!" Frank screamed, putting his arms up in front of his face as Toothless pointed the gun at him.

Toothless barely had to think as he pointed the gun at Frank's left kneecap and fired. As Frank was collapsing, screaming in pain, Toothless quickly aimed at the other kneecap and fired again. It would have been a difficult shot for most, but Toothless was an amazing shot. He never missed.

He put his gun back in its holster and started to walk away, ignoring Frank's cries of pain. As he was walking, he called over his shoulder, "You're lucky you're not dead, next time have the money! And don't try to hide again; clearly I can find you."

Toothless exited the alley and paused before getting in his car. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and just as he was about to pull out his keys, he heard a small gasp from just a few feet away.

Toothless snapped his head to where the sound had come from, and standing there was a teenager with a skinny figure and reddish-brown hair who, admittedly, Toothless thought was pretty good looking. Business before pleasure in this scenario, however, and instincts taking over, Toothless immediately lunged at the teenager and pinned him to the wall of the building.

"What did you see?" Toothless demanded, scowling and letting his angry façade return. Toothless was the best at making sure that he never left evidence to tie him to anything, and a witness was the biggest piece of evidence someone could leave.

"N-nothing," The teenager stuttered. Toothless took a chance to look into the boy's green eyes. He could always tell through someone's eyes if they were lying. In this case, the teenager wasn't. But that wasn't what surprised Toothless. Normally when he was this close to someone, their eyes were filled with pure fear. And that was even if they didn't know who he was. He couldn't help it if he naturally looked intimidating. But there was a look on his face that told Toothless that he knew exactly who he was. And his eyes weren't filled with fear. They seemed to be filled with fascination, wonder, amazement, or something else along those lines. Toothless couldn't quite put his finger on it. Toothless wondered if he had finally found someone not entirely terrified of him. Not wanting to lose his intimidation factor with a pause, Toothless didn't allow himself to dwell on the thought.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

After another moment of making absolutely sure the boy was not lying, Toothless slowly let the boy down. His mind immediately started going a mile a minute again. He didn't immediately run away. He didn't seem to be paralyzed with fear, so that gave Toothless even further hope that maybe, just maybe, this teenager wasn't completely terrified of him like everyone else. He would have stayed and spoken to him for a minute, but the sound of sirens in the distance signalled that it was probably a good time for an exit.

"Alright. See you around," Toothless said, throwing a small wink at the teenager. Again, no negative reaction. Toothless got in his car and drove off, really not wanting to push his luck with those sirens.

As he started to drive, however, he realized he couldn't get the teenager out of his head. Toothless was going to go home, but then he wondered what he would do. This whole experience had just reminded him of how lonely his life really was.

Immediately hanging a sharp left, Toothless circled the block. He needed to find out who this guy was. Toothless had a chance get to properly meet someone not entirely scared of him, and he wasn't going to let some blasted sirens ruin it for him.

He found the teenager walking just a couple of blocks away from the alley and he turned off his lights. Fortunately it was a clear night and the moon illuminated Toothless' path, along with the streetlights. He didn't want to approach him again right now or it may have seemed weird. Slowly creeping behind the boy, he followed him for several more blocks until he watched him enter a condo building. After a few seconds, Toothless stopped the car and got out. The first person he went to was the doorman.

"Excuse me, but do you know the name of that teenager who just came in?"

"Something with an H I think. Harold?" the man replied. "But try the security guard, he talks to him a lot."

"Thanks, Toothless replied before going over to the security guard and posing the same question.

"Oh, that's Hiccup Haddock."

Toothless felt like he had been hit by a sack of bricks. There was no way there was more than one Haddock family in New York, so he had to be related to Stoick. But Toothless wouldn't let that discourage him. If anything, the fact that the relative of a cop didn't tremble in fear when attacked by a high level criminal only encouraged Toothless more. He just had to see that boy again. He was too interesting to not try to get to know.

As he walked out to his car Toothless picked up his phone and quickly dialled a number he had dialled many times in the past.

"Hey Barf? I need a favour. Can you spare Ruff and Tuff tomorrow?"

* * *

Toothless was in the kitchen of the warehouse when he heard the garage door open. He had been in there a while. Toothless didn't become nervous often, but when he did, he ate. He'd regret it afterwards, but it was a reflex he sometimes couldn't control. And he had all the reasons to be nervous right now. He had a chance to get to know Hiccup, and he so hoped that this whole experience (and especially Ruff and Tuff) hadn't freaked him out too much to ruin Toothless' chances. Was it too much to ask the fates to allow him one friend in life? He didn't choose to end up in this life, but he was definitely paying for it.

He sat in the kitchen for a few more minutes, thinking of exactly what to say. He didn't know why he hadn't done this already, especially since he would be entering a delicate situation. The last thing he wanted was to ruin this opportunity.

After a few minutes, he decided just to wing it. The fates had kept anyone who could have been a friend away from him, but then the fates put Hiccup right in front of him. Maybe this was how they were trying to make up for it, so hopefully they would lead him through.

Walking down the hallway, he saw Ruff and Tuff standing outside of the door to his office.

"Hey guys. Thanks for this. You're sure it's him?"

"Well, he looks exactly like the picture and we found him in the area you said we would, so I'd assume."

"Okay, well I saw him going into the building last night after I met him and the security guard recognized him so he probably lives there."

"Don't worry Toothless, it's him. But why did you want to see him?" Tuffnut asked.

"He seems interesting. I want to get to know him."

"Whatever," Ruffnut said. "Tuffnut may have to go but I'll be here to drive him home whenever you're done."

"Thanks Ruffnut," Toothless said as he opened the door. This was it, his chance to make a good impression with Hiccup. He saw him looking out the window at the cars. That gave him an idea on how to get the conversation started. He approached slowly, not wanting to startle him. He walked right up beside Hiccup before he started talking.

"Beautiful, aren't they? Took me years to collect them all. Although to be honest I don't think I've ever driven half of them." Out of the corner of his eye Toothless saw Hiccup starting to turn his head to look at him, and he turned his head to look at Hiccup as well. Giving a gentle smile, he said, "Hello Hiccup."

Toothless immediately mental face-palmed after he said that. Hiccup didn't know that he knew his name yet. Why would he say something like that? He needed to recover quickly.

"Come, sit. I was hoping we could talk for a bit." Toothless gestured to the chairs by the desk. He hoped that if they were sitting the whole thing would seem less intimidating. He noticed how Hiccup was shaking a little as he walked, so after he sat down he decided to momentarily try the direct approach. "Don't look so nervous, it's not like I'm going hurt you," he chuckled.

"How did you find out my name and where I live?" Hiccup asked. Toothless figured if Hiccup was going for the direct approach as well, then maybe he wasn't entirely terrified right now. Toothless wondered momentarily if he should actually tell the truth. The truth wasn't that bad, was it? He couldn't decide, but not wanting to stall the conversation more than he already had, he decided just to tell the truth so he wouldn't have to instantly fabricate a lie.

"After I left, I circled around the block. I drove at a distance behind you until you entered a building, which I'm assuming is the building you live in. After you went in I asked the doorman and the security guard if they happened to know your name. It's amazing how freely people will give out information sometimes really."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense, but how on earth did you get my picture?"

Toothless chuckled. He was worried Hiccup might ask that. Well, he was already dedicated to this whole truth thing. "Actually, that one was a little harder. I had to hack into some of the security cams in the area and find you on the cameras. It took my best hacker 2 hours. But he did a good job of it; the picture of you is very good quality." Wanting to get off that particular subject, Toothless continued. "But enough of that, you're probably wondering why I had you brought here."

"It may have crossed my mind." Toothless detected a hint of sarcasm, and Toothless was ecstatic to hear that. If Hiccup was brave enough to try something like that, maybe he wasn't entirely uncomfortable.

"The truth is," Toothless said while standing up, and he noticed how Hiccup tensed. He couldn't just instantly sit back down though, that may look awkward. So Toothless changed his mind on what he was going to say and went for something to try and calm Hiccup. "I wanted to apologize for last night. I know you were just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. I just acted out of force of habit. Self-protective instincts if you will." He wasn't sure how that was supposed to put Hiccup at ease but an apology seemed better than anything else at the time. Then Toothless figured that if he really wanted to calm Hiccup down he should get him talking about himself.

"I mean how old are you? Nineteen? Twenty?"

"I'm, uh, nineteen, but I'll be twenty next month."

"And do you go to school?"

"Uh yeah, I go to NYU."

"Down in lower Manhattan, right?"

"Yeah."

"What are you studying?"

"I'm a first year in the architecture program."

"So you want to be an architect then?"

"Not really. The truth is I was kind of forced into it by my father. He only let me choose from a limited number of programs. I guess I figured that it was the least of all evils." Here Toothless realized that Hiccup was indeed opening up to him. This was a good sign. He was probably starting to feel at least a little comfortable. Wanting to keep this momentum going, he tried going a little deeper than just surface details.

"Well at least it's an interesting subject. Surely there must be something you like about it?"

"Uh, I guess that it lets me be creative."

Then Toothless got another idea. Hiccup was opening himself up, so perhaps he should open himself up on a personal level as well. At this point he also realized just how much he had to think about trying to talk to Hiccup. Did everyone have to think this much when trying to make a friend? Toothless, having never had the chance before, had nothing to compare to.

"Architecture is actually something I would have liked to study in university if I had had the chance to go. Well I guess I still could at one point, I mean I'm only twenty two, I've still got lots of time." It wasn't actually a complete lie, so Toothless didn't feel bad saying it. Additionally, Hiccup seemed to suddenly become more interested in the conversation as he sat forward a little, which Toothless took as a sign that he was going in the right direction.

"You're only twenty two?"

Toothless chuckled. This was a common mistake people made about him actually. "Yeah, you thought I was older?"

"Well you are quite…successful." Toothless noticed the pause and it struck him that maybe this was a topic to stay away from. His past may not be the best thing to share right away.

"Well I got my start at a young age. I don't really like to talk about it though." Just then, Toothless' cell phone started to ring and he mentally cursed himself. RD had the worst possible timing; things were starting to go quite well. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. I really do apologize for having to cut our meeting short. Ruff and Tuff are waiting outside the door still and they will take you home. Barf and Belch still owe me one more favour. It was nice to see you. Oh, and if you could do me a favour, please try to keep this place a secret. I'd rather not have too many people know about it."

"Uh, yeah, sure, no problem," Hiccup replied.

Picking up his cell phone, Toothless gave Hiccup an appreciative wink. He watched Hiccup slowly exit the office, and as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone he thought to himself, _"I think that went well. I'll have to see him again tomorrow to finish the conversation. And wow, he looks really good in proper light…"_

* * *

**OK before people start pelting me with tomatoes, let me explain something. Yes, in the story I know Toothless comes across as suave and smooth. But under the surface it is a whole different story, or at least it was at this point in the story. When dealing with business relationships Toothless clearly knows the drill and how to handle it, but personal relationships are a whole different ball game. He had to focus so much on making sure that Hiccup was comfortable that Toothless couldn't focus on much else. Plus he was concerned about blowing his chances since he doesn't get many opportunities like this. The fact that to Hiccup he seemed smooth and suave at this first encounter was indeed partially fluke. Obviously, however, as time went on Toothless had to focus less and less on certain things since Hiccup was obviously comfortable. And we shall see one of those situations in the next one-shot (whenever I get around to it).**

**Warrior Nun, thank you again for the cover art, I hope you liked this, and as soon as I get the chance I'll start working on your other idea :D**


	2. Counting Stars

**TITLE: Counting Stars**

**SUMMARY: Toothless' point of view for when he and Hiccup were at the restaurant together. Inspired by Warrior Nun**

**CORRESPONDING CHAPTER FROM MAIN STORY: 9/10**

* * *

"Great, it's a date!" Toothless said with a smile.

Hiccup immediately turned around, walking the other way, and called, "Well, I better get to the subway if I'm going to class!" And with a wave over his shoulder, he was gone.

As soon as he was out of sight, Toothless mentally smacked himself.

_'Seriously? It's a date? Way to probably scare him off,"_ Toothless thought to himself. Sure, he had decided after their last meeting that he wanted their relationship to go that direction eventually, but he needed to take it slowly. As much as Hiccup may try to seem comfortable around him, and perhaps to a certain degree he was, Toothless could still sense a mild bit of reservation when they were together. He needed to break through that first before he could make any type of move.

The first thing that Toothless did after that was call the restaurant to make the reservation. It really was the best restaurant that Toothless could think of and he wanted to make sure their meal was a good one.

He had one more item of business to attend to that day, and he started walking that way as he punched the number for the restaurant into his phone. It rang three times before a female voice on the other end answered.

"Redeye Grill, how may I help you?"

"I'd like to make a reservation for two tonight at six."

"Alright, can I get a name please?"

Toothless paused momentarily. He didn't want to give his name because who knows how much suspicion that might arise. But he didn't want to use Hiccup's name either because he had a last name that might be recognized as well. Pausing for a moment, it dawned on Toothless what name he could leave without raising too many eyebrows.

"Hiccup Night."

"Alright Hiccup, two for dinner tonight at 6pm. We look forward to seeing you," the voice said on the other end before hanging up. With that taken care of, Toothless could focus on his other matter of business for the day before the…outing.

* * *

Toothless walked into the convenience store and noticed he was the only one there, other than the owner of course. That just made his job even easier. The light above him flickered as he walked up to the counter.

The store owner looked up from the register and immediately had a look of distaste on his face.

"What do you want?" The store owner asked with a snarl.

"Just the usual."

The owner opened up the cash register and took out a stack of bills. Reluctantly giving it to Toothless, he added, "One day you're going to regret this."

Ignoring him, Toothless took the money and walked out. He walked back to his condo and headed upstairs, placing the money carefully in his front drawer to give to RD later.

Glancing at the clock he realized he had several hours to fill before he went to go get Hiccup for dinner. Instead of just wasting his time though, he decided to start getting ready. He took a long shower, after which he shaved and fussed over his shoulder length hair in the mirror. He took a while picking out which suit to wear, then went back to the mirror to make sure his hair was still perfect. In reality he knew that he shouldn't be fussing this much because in the end it wasn't technically a date, but he still wanted to look his best for Hiccup.

When Toothless looked at the clock, it was only 4pm. Wondering what to do, he realized that he only had the Lincoln at the condo. Surely he could use a nicer car than that for the night. It would be tight, but Toothless figured he could make it to the warehouse, pick out a nice car, and make it back in time. Grabbing the keys, Toothless headed down to the parking garage, got into the Lincoln, and drove to the warehouse.

When he arrived, he immediately made his way back to the lock box of keys. He glanced at his watch, realizing that he only had thirty more minutes to make a drive that would probably take about fourty-five with the traffic he had seen heading here. Thinking that anything would be nicer than the Lincoln, he grabbed the first set of keys, not wanting to delay himself with fussing over which car to take. Pushing the lock button on the keys, he discovered he had randomly selected the Pagani Zonda. Not a bad result for a random selection. He headed over to the car, turned the key, and as the engine roared to life, he gunned it back to Manhattan.

As luck would have it, traffic was lighter than Toothless had thought it would be and he pulled up to Hiccup's condo at exactly 5:29. He and his car got a few passing glances from pedestrians walking past, but he ignored them and called Hiccup to let him know he was here. It took two rings before there was an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Hiccup, it's me. I'm downstairs in the car. You almost ready?"

"Uh, yeah, I'll be down in a minute. What type of car is it?"

Toothless smiled at this as he looked around at the car's interior. Deciding he wanted to see the look on Hiccup's face when he saw the car, all he replied with was a, "Don't worry, you'll know." Not wanting to allow any more questions, Toothless hung up and waited.

It took a couple of minutes, but eventually Toothless saw Hiccup come out of the front doors of the building. Toothless had to admit, Hiccup looked pretty good in that suit jacket and dress pants. And the green shirt was a colour that would complement his eyes quite well.

It took Toothless a second to stop admiring Hiccup's choice of clothing and realize he was looking in the wrong direction. To get his attention, Toothless put the car in neutral and tapped on the accelerator, letting the engine rev.

It seemed to do the trick as Hiccup looked over and, after a momentary pause, started walking up to the car. As he arrived at the passenger side window, he looked in but didn't get in. Wondering why he wasn't getting in, Toothless rolled the window down.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get in?" Toothless asked with a smile. Hiccup's expression of pure disbelief finally broke and Hiccup jumped in and fastened his seatbelt. Toothless shifted back into first gear and drove off, letting the engine rev a little more just for fun.

"So I'm guessing you weren't going for inconspicuous then…." Hiccup said after a momentary silence.

"What? This is a nice car and I wanted to get it out of the garage."

"And if my father had been in the lobby and noticed that car? Don't you think that that would have attracted his attention?"

"Accounted for. Your father left the station heading in the opposite direction about fifteen minutes ago. Where to though I'm not sure." This was actually the truth. On his drive to Manhattan Toothless had checked the app on his phone that let him track other people through their cell phone signals. It wasn't exactly legal, but it got the job done.

Hiccup's expression visibly saddened. "Oh, he's probably just working late again, if you know what I mean."

Toothless didn't know what he meant, but clearly this was a topic that upset Hiccup so he didn't want to stay on it. Taking in a deep breath Toothless smelled the strawberry shampoo that he had smelled on Hiccup before, but he also smelled something different. It gave Toothless another topic to bring up.

"Uh, Hiccup, are you wearing cologne?" Toothless asked. Hiccup may not have said anything, but he caught the light blush on his cheeks and that was enough of an answer for him. "Wow, didn't know that this was such a big night for you that you decided to wear cologne."

"Well, maybe I wear it every day."

"No, you don't. You've never had it on at any of our other meetings. Normally all I can smell is your strawberry shampoo," Toothless said matter-of-factly. He was glad that Hiccup no longer looked sad at this point.

"Touché," was all Hiccup said in response.

Not wanting the conversation to die, Toothless asked, "So, Hiccup, you ever been to this place before?" Right after he asked it, however, he mentally smacked himself. Hiccup had said he had never heard of this place before so obviously he had never been there before. He figured his mild nervousness must be affecting his brain. Toothless told himself he didn't need to be nervous, this was just dinner between friends. For now.

"No. My mother always cooked when she was alive, and my dad isn't a fan of taking me out for dinner."

Great, the conversation had taken a turn for the depressing again. Toothless really needed to stop letting that happen.

"Oh, I see. Well then you're in for a treat. This place is amazing."

"I'll take your word for it."

As much as he wanted to change the subject, Toothless didn't want to seem heartless, so he added an, "And Hiccup, I really am sorry about your mother."

Hiccup gave a quiet, "thanks", and Toothless was glad they were arriving at the restaurant. The car ride had definitely not provided the best atmosphere for conversation, and Toothless hoped that the conversation in the restaurant would be better.

"We're here," Toothless said as he pulled up to the curb. They got out and Toothless handed the keys to the valet, telling him to take extra care of the car. This was a car that was hard to come by and Toothless did not want it dented. They then proceeded up to the restaurant door and Toothless held it open for Hiccup. When they were inside, the hostess asked if they had a reservation.

"Yes, it's under the name Hiccup Night," Toothless responded.

After a quick glance down, the hostess nodded and said, "Ah, yes, here we go, table for two. Right this way please."

They were seated at a table facing 7th Avenue and Toothless thought it was interesting to watch the traffic on the street drive past. He couldn't help but notice the way Hiccup's eyes reflected the car lights, but he quickly looked back down, not wanting to make Hiccup uncomfortable by staring. After they received their menus and the hostess left, Hiccup spoke up once again.

"So, Hiccup Night?"

Toothless chuckled. "Yes, well, I didn't want to use my nickname because I didn't want to raise suspicion, so I used yours. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all. But why Night? Why change my last name?"

"It's like I said before. I am willing to bet that there is only one Haddock family in all of New York, and I didn't want to bring any unnecessary attention. And to be honest, Night is actually my real last name, but no one really knows that."

"Oh, ok," Hiccup said.

Toothless was about to say something else before a tall, dark haired man he knew to be André walked up to the table.

"Ah, welcome back _Hiccup_," the André said, placing extra emphasis on the name. "How are you?"

"Ah, André, how are you?" Toothless asked, shaking his hand. "Actually, this here is Hiccup. I just used his name for the reservation." André nodded and Toothless turned his attention to Hiccup. "Hiccup, this is André, one of the chefs here. He makes the most amazing steak in the city. You like steak, right?"

Hiccup nodded, and that was all Toothless needed to see before he continued.

"Perfect! Then André, we'll take two of the prime bone in New York strips, cooked medium."

"Of course! I'll personally get started right away!" André said.

"Oh, and tell Vincent to put it all on my tab, would you?" André nodded as he started to walk away, and Toothless turned back to Hiccup. This whole dinner had been to get to know each other better, so Toothless figured he might as well get that started. "So, you know all about my past from earlier today, so tell me a little about yours." He figured if Hiccup wasn't comfortable with anything, he just wouldn't mention it.

"What, you mean you haven't already used your sources to find all that out?" Hiccup asked with a smirk. Toothless couldn't help but smile at this.

"I have to leave some things a mystery, otherwise what would we talk about?" Hiccup chuckled at this and Toothless loved the sound of Hiccup's laugh.

"Touché. Well, there's not much to tell," Hiccup said. Even so, he managed to go on for almost twenty minutes, talking about where he was born (Queens, New York), how he was bullied in elementary school and how it just got worse after his mom died (he was nine), how his father had changed after his mom had died, and how he was dealing with his father being absent and always "working late". Toothless was surprised how much detail Hiccup was willing to go into, so he paid full attention to make sure it soaked in the first time. Hiccup was just talking about school when André returned with the steaks.

Hiccup took a couple bites and Toothless could see the look of pure satisfaction on Hiccup's face. Toothless had to snap himself back to reality, almost getting lost in Hiccup's eyes again. The way the car lights from outside reflected in his irises made it seem like they were sparkling.

_'Knock it off Toothless,' _he thought to himself. _'Remember, not a date.'_

The conversation quickly resumed, this time getting into basics such as favourite colours (green for Hiccup and deep blue for Toothless) and favourite spots in Central Park (The Mall for Toothless, Hiccup just said The Pond). Eventually, however, Hiccup asked Toothless how things were going with "work." Toothless knew that Hiccup was interested in that type of thing (he must be if he was taking a university course in it), so he figured he should answer. Especially after how much Hiccup had already told him. Toothless was a little upset he didn't have a positive answer however.

"Oh, well, I don't know. Not too well, really."

"Why, what's up?"

"Well RD has been a little more, how do I put this, violent, lately. More attacks sooner on people not repaying debts, more shootings, telling us to use more vicious methods to get protection money, stuff like that. The other leaders aren't happy either that he is making us put ourselves in so much more danger. He's not going to be happy until someone is dead. Actually, someone is dead. Remember that guy from the night we first met? Earlier today I had to go kill him." In fact, he had gotten the message as soon as he had woken up so it was the first thing that he had done that morning. Not exactly the best way to start a day.

"So, why don't you and the other leaders try to take him out? Overthrow him or something?" Hiccup asked.

"If I spoke out at all against RD, or if anyone did, those loyal to him would inform him and take the individual out. I am friends with the other leaders, but you never know where their true loyalties lie. One of them could pretend to be with me, then go tell RD and get the rest of us killed. I can't be responsible for that."

"Oh, wow," Hiccup said so quietly it could almost be called muttering.

"That's why I had to call in favours to bring you to the warehouse. I don't want to hire someone to work with me because I know that I would be putting someone in direct danger. I kind of feel bad bringing you this far into it," Toothless said, looking down. And he honestly did feel a little bad dragging Hiccup into it all.

"It's ok, I don't mind, really. I'm sure I'll be fine. Besides, I live with my dad and it's not like I'm doing any work for you so I think I'll be fine," Hiccup said with a smile. The fact Hiccup wasn't concerned cheered Toothless up a little and they both got back to their food.

* * *

Dinner concluded well with the rest of the conversation being small talk. When they got up to leave, however, Hiccup looked out the window and his eyes widened. Toothless glanced outside and saw a Lincoln, but didn't understand why Hiccup was so concerned. It was when the colour drained from Hiccup's face that Toothless decided to speak up.

"Hiccup? You don't look very well. Are you ok?" When there was no answer, Toothless walked over to Hiccup and put his hand on his shoulder. Looking out of the window to get a better look at the Lincoln, Toothless realized why Hiccup was having this reaction.

Stoick was climbing out of the back seat, one girl draped on each arm. Toothless realized how hard this must be on Hiccup and that he needed to get him out of there as soon as possible.

"Hiccup, this way," was all he said before he grabbed Hiccup's wrist and started pulling him towards the kitchens. Fortunately Toothless knew the back way out so they wouldn't get spotted. Hiccup followed Toothless with no problem through the kitchens and out the back door. They received a few passing glances from the employees but no one said anything. When they stopped in the back alley, however, Hiccup finally broke down into tears.

Toothless held Hiccup close, whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Toothless decided to forget the boundaries he had set for himself to make sure Hiccup wouldn't think he was coming on to him quite yet. Hiccup just needed someone to comfort him right now, and Toothless was there. After a few moments, Hiccup started to speak again.

"Almost every single night he does this. He goes out to clubs and picks up these women. And then he treats them better than me even though the next time he'll have someone new," Hiccup said between sobs.

Toothless couldn't help but feel bad for him. "It's ok Hiccup. Let it all out. Things will get better, I promise. They always do."

When Hiccup looked up, Toothless tried to put on a smile for him. Hiccup slowly stopped crying and Toothless took that as a good sign. Then, for a split second, Toothless thought he noticed something like a thought or a feeling flash through Hiccup's eyes. It left as quickly as it came, and Toothless couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Not wanting to stay silent in the back alley too long, Toothless spoke up.

"Come on, I'll take you home." They walked slowly around the building to make sure Stoick would already be inside. Toothless got his car from the valet and he started to drive Hiccup back to his apartment. It was a silent ride, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was the kind of silence where everyone is lost in their own thoughts and everybody knows that. Toothless was thinking about how bad he felt for Hiccup seeing his father like that, and a little selfishly hoping that his comforting gestures had helped him advance his status with Hiccup. His gestures had been genuine and he hadn't been thinking about their relationship at the time, but now there was no reason not to hope that maybe his actions had helped. They were snapped out of their thoughts when Toothless pulled up to Hiccup's building.

"Thanks for tonight," Hiccup started, "it was actually a lot of fun until, well, yeah."

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong."

"I don't know, just seemed like the right thing to say," Toothless said with a smile. "So, will I get to see you again soon?"

Hiccup smiled and said, "Something tells me that even if I said no I wouldn't have much of a choice when that black Lincoln shows up. But yes, definitely."

"Goodnight Hiccup," Toothless chuckled. He was glad that he managed to keep his sense of humour despite the situation.

"Goodnight," Hiccup responded before closing the door.

Toothless watched Hiccup walk through the main doors before he drove off. Yup, Hiccup was definitely more comfortable around Toothless now, and he took that as a good sign.

* * *

**The title is inspired by the song by OneRepublic. Thinking about Hiccup and Toothless' current and future relationship in this and the main story makes me think of this song.**

**You know what made those steaks taste so good? All the reviews you lovely people have given me on both these stories. Toothless, Hiccup, and I thank you :)**


	3. The Dangers of Doing Business

**TITLE: The Dangers of Doing Business**

**SUMMARY: Toothless may be good, but he can't avoid injury forever. Especially in his line of work. Toothless' POV for the visit to the convenience store that got him injured. Inspired by DragonDude23.**

**CORRESPONDING CHAPTERS FROM MAIN STORY: 16**

* * *

It was six o'clock when Toothless woke up Monday morning. His alarm was set for seven, but he knew that if he tried to go back to sleep for the extra hour he would be groggy when he woke up, and now he felt wide awake. So, reluctantly, he crawled out of bed and into the bathroom. He decided against taking a shower; he knew that Hiccup was probably still asleep and he didn't want the sound of running water to wake him. So, after getting dressed into one of his usual suits, he headed downstairs. After he got there he realized he didn't make his bed, but he decided it wasn't worth the trip back upstairs.

He ate some cereal slowly for breakfast, running through his day in his head. All day was money runs from people owing money and protection payments. It wasn't Toothless' favourite thing to do, but it had to be done. He decided he may as well get an early start, but as he headed out, he paused. He saw the empty milk container on the counter and opened the fridge once more. There was some food inside, but not too much. Plus, he didn't know what exactly Hiccup liked to eat. He put his hands in his pocket as he thought, and he felt his wallet. Deciding he could trust Hiccup he pulled out his debit card and scribbled a quick note on a spare piece of paper. With that, he headed out.

* * *

Toothless was actually quite pleased, all things considered. He had been all over the city, stopping at all types of stores, houses, and back alleys, and everything had gone smoothly. Plus, back at four o'clock he had sent Hiccup a message saying he'd be home at 6:30, and by the looks of his timing, he'd be on time.

It was 6:15 as he walked into the convenience store not too far from the condo. He had considered dropping off the car at the condo before stopping into the store, but changed his mind last minute. He would have had to drive past it and walk back the way he came, which just seemed redundant. So, he stopped the car at the curb, put on the four ways, and walked in.

Inside the store, Toothless noted that there were a few other people meandering the aisles, but they all seemed to be heading in the general direction of the cash register. Toothless just walked around the store, looking at some of the odds and ends as he waited for everyone else to clear out. He had been here enough times to know that the store only had one security camera, and he made sure that he stayed out of its line of sight once he was in the store. He knew it was unavoidable on the way in, but he just always turned his head the other way and put his hand up like he was scratching his head. Why it didn't face the register confused Toothless, but he didn't complain; it just made his job easier.

Just as Toothless finished exploring the last aisle, he noticed that the last of the customers had left the store. Walking the long way to the register to avoid the camera, he approached the counter from the side and the owner actually didn't see him at first. When he did, however, he immediately rolled his eyes.

"You should just leave me alone," the man spat, "what have I ever done to you?"

"I don't charge the money, I just collect it," Toothless replied.

"Whatever," muttered the owner as he opened the cash drawer. He pulled out the usual amount of cash, put it on the counter, and turned around to deal with something behind him. Toothless just took the money and started to walk away.

As he was about halfway to the door, Toothless heard the faint sound of metal scraping. He turned around ever so slightly, and as he did so he suddenly felt a warm sensation on his side. Not a second later, there was a clanging sound on the door in front of him and the pain hit Toothless.

Toothless needed only a second to take in his surroundings, even as he let out a scream of pain. He saw the bloodied knife laying on the floor (the clanging), the blood spilling from his side (the pain), and the owner jumping over the counter and charging towards him with more ease than Toothless would have thought the man would've had, another knife in hand.

Protective instincts immediately kicking in, Toothless pulled out his gun. The pain threw off his aim just a little, but he still managed to get three bullets into the man's leg, effectively stopping him as he fell to the floor in pain. Toothless was angry at the man and was considering some type of revenge, but his anger would have to wait until a later date. He needed to get away quickly and without worsening his injury.

Pain pulsed through his body from his side as he made his way back to his car, collecting the bloodied knife on the way out. It was a really good thing he hadn't walked here or the trip home would have been near impossible. Turning the keys in the ignition, the car had barely roared to life before Toothless put it in gear and took off for the apartment, blood already staining the fabric of the seat red. Fortunately the wound didn't seem immediately life threatening, so he would at least make it home and Hiccup could take it from there. He had said he'd had first aid training, so maybe he could help. Or that doctor a few floors up. Anything but the hospital, where they could probably help pin him to this when the owner made his police report. He tossed the knife into the back seat to deal with it later.

Toothless made it back in record speed, parking in his reserved spot in the underground and stumbling to the elevator. Pressing the up button repeatedly, he awaited an elevator while still grasping his side. When it arrived with a soft dinging sound, Toothless scrambled in and pushed the nineteen button and the close door button at the same time. He knew that the elevators in the building had been programmed so that if they were pushed at the same time they would go to the selected floor non-stop, and while that function was only supposed to be used by emergency personnel in an emergency, Toothless figured that his extenuating circumstances warranted usage of the function.

As he impatiently waited in the elevator while it ascended, Toothless impatiently glanced at his watch. It read 6:35, and that meant he was officially late. He hoped that since he had never been late before that Hiccup would be waiting near the door, ready to help him upon his entry.

When the doors opened on the nineteenth floor, Toothless tried to exit the elevator a little too quickly in his excitement and collapsed in pain. His door was only across the hall from the elevators, so he crawled his way over and fished his key out of his pocket, inserting it into the lock. Managing to push it open, Toothless crawled inside.

When he entered, he immediately heard Hiccup's voice which was a giant relief for Toothless, but he didn't hear what Hiccup was saying. Instead, he was too busy grabbing onto the bench by the door as he kicked the door shut behind him. Toothless immediately realized this was a mistake, seeing as he twisted his side in doing so and aggravated the wound. He let out a small scream of pain, and not a few seconds later Hiccup was at his side with the first aid kit.

Hiccup helped Toothless take of his jacket, and when he started on the buttons of his shirt Toothless decided to expedite the process by just ripping off the shirt. He figured the faster Hiccup could get to the wound the better. Hiccup immediately used some wipes on the wound that stung a little, but it was nothing compared to when he put the gauze on and pushed the sides of the wound together. That warranted a pained scream from Toothless before he could stop it from falling from his lips.

"Toothless, is this a stab wound? You need a hospital, like now," Hiccup said, voice surprisingly calm.

"No, no hospital. Can't leave evidence," Toothless replied, not wanting this injury on record more than absolutely necessary.

"Toothless this is a bad wound. We can't properly treat it here. You NEED a hospital, and stitches."

"No, no hospital. But I do have a doctor that owes me." He should have figured that Hiccup wouldn't be able to do everything required for the treatment of this wound, and while he didn't particularly want the doctor knowing about this injury either, he clearly didn't have a choice.

"Where's your phone? I'll call them."

"No need. Upstairs. 2402."

"Alright, keep pressure on this Toothless and don't move," Hiccup said as he bolted out the door. Normally Toothless would listen, but he knew that the doctor wouldn't be able to help him on the floor and the table wasn't very comfortable, so Toothless got up as much as he could and made for the stairs. They were definitely the most painful part of this whole experience, and he didn't make it all the way up before he collapsed once more. Fortunately he was only a couple steps from the top, so he dragged himself up the rest of the way and into his bedroom.

"Toothless what the heck is wrong with you?" he heard Hiccup scream as he was trying to lift himself onto the bed. He grunted as Hiccup and the doctor helped him up, and Hiccup propped his head up on some pillows as the doctor washed his hands in the bathroom.

"OK, what happened and what have you done so far?" the doctor asked. Toothless took a second before he was about to respond, but Hiccup beat him to it.

"It looks like a knife wound. I used some disinfectant wipes and told him to keep pressure on it."

"Alright, I have the materials for stitches but I don't have any anesthetic or numbing agent, so this is going to hurt. A lot," the doctor stated while glancing at Toothless, almost as if seeking approval to continue. Toothless figured he had already been through so much pain so a little more couldn't be that bad.

Suddenly, Hiccup vanished from the room. As he returned Toothless noticed he was carrying a cutting board from the kitchen.

"Bite down on this. It'll help a little," Hiccup said. Toothless noted that Hiccup had gotten the one labelled 'vegetables' and not the one labelled 'raw meat', and he was glad his boyfriend had enough common sense to bring the proper board. The last thing he needed was salmonella poisoning on top of everything else. He took the cutting board instantly, but didn't bother to take Hiccup's hand when offered. He figured he would be fine, however by the second stitch he had changed his mind, grasping Hiccup's hand so hard at points he was concerned he might break it.

In the end it took what was in actuality probably twenty minutes to get Toothless stitched up and bandaged. After they were done, Hiccup started walking towards the front door with the doctor after he had been told to stay put once more. This time he had no intention of going anywhere however. He just wanted to stay in bed, hopefully relaxing with the man who had gotten him through this whole experience regardless of how difficult and disobedient he had been. And when Hiccup walked back into the room a few minutes later, Toothless donned the most genuine smile he had all day.


	4. Not As It Seems

**TITLE: Not As It Seems**

**SUMMARY: Stoick wants to be a good father, he just doesn't know how. Or how to control his temper. Stoick's POV of the eviction and a few other scenes, inspired by Jayalaw.**

**CORRESPONDING CHAPTERS FROM MAIN STORY: 14, 15, 19**

* * *

Stoick awoke to his cell phone ringing at around 9 am Saturday morning. He grunted angrily as he rolled over, checking the caller ID and discovering it was the station.

"Hello?" He asked roughly, not impressed to be called on his day off.

"Sorry to wake you detective, but we, uh, have some information on Toothless that you might want to know about," the voice on the other end said.

"Couldn't this wait till later?" Stoick asked rolling over and putting his arm over his eyes to block out the sun coming in through the crack in his curtains.

"Well, this kind of is later. The information is from late last night. We thought you might want to come in to see this."

"Why can't you just tell me over the phone?"

"It's surveillance video sir. And, well, you'll probably want to see this in person."

"Ugh, fine, I'll be in as soon as I can," Stoick said, hanging up before there was any chance for an answer. He had to fight the urge to go back to sleep since he hadn't gotten much sleep last night. He kept waking up every couple hours to walk over to Hiccup's room to see if his son had come home yet. He may not seem like the best father, and he knew Hiccup may not approve of his activities in his free time, but that didn't mean he didn't care.

As he rolled out of bed, he could only wonder what was so important that he had to go in on one of the few Saturdays he had off to see it. Regardless, he rolled himself out of bed and into the bathroom. When he got there, he discovered that he had run out of toothpaste. Hiccup was supposed to pick him up a new tube when he went out, but he must have forgotten. Stoick was a little unimpressed, but he just brushed his teeth with Hiccup's toothpaste.

Getting into the shower, the water never got warmer than ice cold. This made Stoick really mad, considering he had spoken to building management several times about this. He loved the condo building, but this was the one thing wrong with it, and it angered him that they never did anything about it.

He finished up in the shower and started to get changed, only to realize his belt didn't fit.

"What? But it fit last time…" Stoick mumbled to himself. Stepping on the scale, he realized that he had gained five pounds. Grumbling at his increase in weight, he decided to go without the belt for the day and hope no one said anything.

Walking into the kitchen, Stoick decided he needed some coffee. He opened the cupboard and pulled out the coffee container, and before he even opened it he knew it was empty.

"You've got to me kidding me!" Stoick yelled to no one in particular. "What else could possibly go wrong today?" Stoick was seething by this point, with something going wrong at every point of his day so far. He figured maybe if he got out of the house his luck would change. He didn't realize just how wrong he was.

When he got to the lobby, he realized that he had given Gobber the day off since he didn't think he'd need him, so he had no ride to the station. Muttering a curse under his breath, he started walking to the subway. Halfway to the station, however, Stoick pulled out his cell phone and checked to see if there were any delays. Sure enough, the trains were stopped on the Lexington Avenue line. To Stoick, this was both a positive and a negative: he caught himself before he got stuck in a delay, but now he had to navigate New York traffic while driving. Walking back to the condo, he descended into the underground parking lot and started his car. He rarely used the aged Jetta, but he kept it just in case of just such an emergency, or in case he needed to drive somewhere far.

Pulling out of the lot and into traffic, he immediately came to a dead stop. Pounding the steering wheel, Stoick let out a grumble. He was hoping traffic wouldn't be this bad. Besides, when he had been on street level traffic hadn't been this bad. It took him twenty minutes to go about a kilometre, and when he looked a little further up the road he saw why: there was a collision. Stoick started to get mad, but just repeated over his head that there was nothing he could do, and turned on his music.

He crept along the street until he finally made it to the scene, and then the road finally opened up a little (or as much as it could for Manhattan). Just after it opened up, Stoick's cell phone buzzed, and that was the set up for the worst part of Stoick's day. As he glanced down to see who it was, the car in front of him slammed the brakes. Stoick didn't notice until the sound of rubber squealing on asphalt pierced the air. He slammed the brakes as well, however it was no use. There was another squeal of tires, the blast of a horn, and the deafening crunch of metal on metal before Stoick's airbags deployed.

"FUCK!" Stoick didn't curse often, but today had just been one of those days where everything was going wrong, and it wasn't even noon. Fortunately he didn't think he was injured, so he got out of the car to check on the driver of the car in front.

Fourty five pain staking minutes later, Stoick was finally done at the scene. Between the tow truck getting stuck in traffic, the driver barely speaking English, and the other driver constantly threatening to sue, Stoick had had enough. But, he still had to go into work because apparently it was that important. So after the car was safely being towed to a repair shop and he had the other driver's information, he hopped in a cab to the station.

Fifteen minutes and thirty dollars later, Stoick exited the taxi and ascended the stairs into the station. Dropping his jacket off at his desk, he started looking for the detective that had called him. Fortunately it was a quick search since he was at his desk; Stoick really wasn't in the mood for a long search.

"Alright Tom, what did you want?" Stoick asked, irritation evident in his voice.

"Oh, Stoick, is everything OK?"

"Bad morning. Now what did you want to show me?"

"Oh, well, if you're in a bad mood maybe right now isn't the best…"

"Tom! I did not get up early on my day off and come all the way here to not see what you want me to see!" Stoick interrupted.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you," Tom said as he stood up.

Wordlessly, they walked to the room where all the footage from all the security cameras around the city was stored. Upon entering, Tom only needed to push play as the tape was already in the machine.

The tape was edited to just show where they had seen Toothless that day. They watched him go back and forth between certain stores and other establishments, before heading back to his condo.

"And this couldn't have waited until Monday why?" Stoick asked.

"Just wait," Tom said as he pushed the fast forward button to speed up a little. They watched as Toothless returned to his condo, and stayed there for a while.

"Can you please tell me why you called me on my day off to watch Toothless do his shopping?" Stoick asked, patience wearing thin. If Tom had a point he'd better get to it quickly.

Tom sped up the video a little further, and they watched Toothless leave his condo in his car. They followed him until he entered a dead zone in the city, and the tape paused. Before Stoick had the chance to express his anger once more, Tom quickly pushed play once more. This time the footage was showing the inside of a nightclub.

"This is why we called Stoick. We lost Toothless, but we got alerted that his credit card had been used at this nightclub."

"So he likes to go out, whoop de doo," Stoick said flatly, waving his finger in circular motions in the air.

"Well, the truth is, you might be interested in seeing who he was there with," Tom said as he pushed the pause button.

Stoick gave Tom a confused look at first, but when he glanced at the paused screen his heart stopped. Sitting there, perhaps a little too close to each other, were Toothless and Hiccup. His eyes grew wide and subsequently narrowed. His breathing became loud and heavy, but before Tom could say anything Stoick had left.

"No, no, no," was all Stoick kept mumbling to himself as he retrieved his jacket and left the station. He considered heading home, but he couldn't. He didn't want to deal with all of this right now, and being home would only keep it on his mind. So instead he headed to the one place he could go to think. The place he had seen his wife go when they had fought back in their early days of their relationship. He started walking towards The Pond at Central Park.

* * *

He arrived on the west side of The Pond around thirty minutes later, after taking 2 subway lines and hiking through the trees. He had followed his wife (or girlfriend at the time) here after their first argument, but he hadn't bothered to follow her in. He realized that she needed some alone time. After she had died, however, he decided to go and see the place. And it turned out it was a great place to think. Close to home yet quiet and secluded; something hard to find in Manhattan.

Stoick spent several hours thinking there. He tried to understand why his son was hanging around with Toothless. Was it something that he had done? Something he had said? Was it just a rebellious teen phase? Was Toothless trying to use Hiccup to get to himself? Regardless of the possibilities that went through Stoick's head, he couldn't help but feel an overpowering sense of guilt crushing him. Added on top of that was a sense of sadness, brought on by the fact that Stoick could only assume that he had been partially responsible. He hadn't felt this badly about himself and this upset since Val had died.

After that thought had passed through his head, Stoick went into a downward emotional slide. He had promised Val on her deathbed that he would watch over Hiccup. That he would try his hardest to keep him safe. What would Val think if she saw this? Would she be disappointed in him? That was a thought Stoick couldn't bear to think of. Eventually he couldn't take the emotional self-pain he was inflicting on himself, weighing him down like an anchor. So, he headed to the same place he did after Val's death to help numb the pain: the bar.

* * *

Stoick spent several hours at the bar, downing a vast variety of alcoholic beverages. While he was drinking, he decided to speak to his son when he got home. He couldn't keep letting this get to him. He needed answers and he needed them now. He left he popped a piece of gum into his mouth and started the short walk home. He paused for just a moment outside the door to gather himself (at least as much as he could after all that alcohol), then he entered.

"Hiccup?" Stoick called as he closed the door behind him.

"Here," Hiccup called, and Stoick saw his son's had raised above the back of the couch. Well, it was now or never.

"Do you have a minute to talk Hiccup?"

There was a pause before Hiccup answered with a, "Sure." Even in his intoxicated state Stoick could sense the reservation in Hiccup's voice, and if anything that just reminded him that this was to be a serious conversation and that he needed to seem calm and cool. He watched as Hiccup walked over to the nearby kitchen table and placed a knee on one of the chairs without sitting.

"I noticed you weren't home last night. Is everything OK?" Stoick asked, making sure he wasn't slurring any words. He needed Hiccup to take him seriously and he knew that if Hiccup knew he had been drinking, he wouldn't.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

A pause, followed by a, "No, nothing off the top of my head."

"OK, if you're sure," Stoick said as he started to turn around. Stoick caught himself and realized he was starting to back down. No, he couldn't do that. He needed answers. "Actually, one more thing, Hiccup."

"Hm?"

"This morning I was called into the station as I'm sure you saw. I got a call regarding Toothless."

"OK, but why are you telling me this?"

"Well I know you're interested in that kind of stuff, I thought you might like to know what's going on in real time."_ 'Stick to the point Stoick!' _he reminded himself. "We caught him on a few security cameras around town, going into several stores and other buildings, until he ended up going home around eight. He left again around 8:45. But he ended up going through one of very few camera dead zones in the city, so we lost him. Until we discovered his credit card had been used at the Lexicon Nightclub and we found him on the camera at the bar there. So we followed him with the cameras. We actually have remote control of the cameras in that club since it's occasionally known for trouble. Do you know what we saw there?"

Stoick didn't mean to allow what happened next, but the memories of the feelings from first seeing everything at the station as well as the alcohol finally caught up to him with a vengeance.

"WE SAW YOU THERE WITH HIM! WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU DOING THERE HICCUP? I'VE NEVER FELT SO BETRAYED BEFORE!"

"YES, I WAS THERE WITH HIM? AND WHY? BECAUSE HE IS THE ONLY PERSON WILLING TO BE MY FRIEND! EVERYONE ELSE GETS SCARED OFF BY YOU OR JUST THE THOUGHT OF YOU!"

Stoick may not have known what to expect, but he definitely didn't expect Hiccup to fight back quite so forcefully. He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so he continued on the current path.

"TOOTHLESS IS A BAD PERSON! HE WILL ONLY HURT YOU! I MEAN HE'S OBVIOUSLY JUST GETTING CLOSE TO YOU TO GET TO ME!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT FOR SURE! WE DON'T EVEN TALK ABOUT YOU!"

"THAT DOESN'T PROVE ANYTHING!"

"I KNOW HE'S A TRUE FRIEND AND THAT HE CARES ABOUT ME. IN FACT, HE PROBABLY KNOWS MORE ABOUT ME THAN YOU DO!"

Stoick realized that this approach clearly wasn't working. So, he tried to calm himself a little. Unfortunately he didn't do a very good job as when he spoke again he was still seething.

"You are not to see him again. You will always travel with an officer or Gobber so I know where you are at all times."

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO ME!"

"As long as you live under MY roof, you will live by MY rules."

"I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THIS RIGHT NOW! I'M GOING FOR A WALK!"

Stoick was done dealing with this, and he wasn't sure if what he said next should be attributed to his anger, the alcohol in his veins, or a combination of the two.

"If you walk out that door, you better not come back." Stoick watched Hiccup retreat to his room, and he thought he had won. His sigh of victory was premature, however, as not a moment later Hiccup returned with his jacket and was bee lining for the door. Stoick suddenly became desperate, but the only thing that came to mind was a threat. "And if you leave I am cutting off your tuition and allowance payments."

Hiccup paused for just a moment, but he continued his trek out the front door wordlessly. Stoick watched him go, unable to bring himself to say anything further.

* * *

That night, Stoick got no sleep. He stayed up the entire night, stuck in a vicious cycle of anger, sadness, and alcohol. So when there was a knock on the door he almost didn't get up from the couch. He decided that he better at least check the peephole, but when he did, all the emotions from last night came flooding back and the alcohol took over once more.

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to get my stuff."

"No. Go away."

"Come on, just let me grab my clothes." When Stoick didn't respond he heard a key being inserted into the lock, and he held the deadbolt closed.

"The locks are changed," Stoick lied. "Now I'll ask you to leave one last time before I call security."

"Fine. Goodbye dad."

"Don't call me that. You've thrown your lot in with him. You're not my son." And with that, Stoick took one more sip of beer, and blacked out.

When Stoick woke up later that day, he was immediately flooded with the memories of the last 24 hours. And thinking back, he regretted them all. But what was he to do now? He knew that he couldn't just go back to Hiccup and apologize; he would never accept it. Hiccup could be as hard-headed as himself sometimes. He knew he needed to give his son some time to cool off, so he decided to give him some space. He would just leave it all alone and hope Hiccup was smart enough to use his resources to stay safe for a few days. Unfortunately he didn't look at his computer before it died just then, or he would have seen the open webpages for the bank and the cell phone company.

* * *

It was a few days later when Stoick ran into Hiccup again. They were both at the same grocery store and they bumped carts by accident. Stoick wasn't exactly expecting this, so it took him by surprise.

"Hiccup? What are you doing here?"

"I'm shopping, what else?" Stoick heard the bite in that sentence, so clearly Hiccup wasn't quite past everything. Not that Stoick should have expected him to be, but he seemed just as mad as at their last conversation.

"I can see that. So, where are you staying son?" He really did hope his son was staying somewhere decent.

"Don't call me that. You lost me as a son when you kicked me out of your apartment."

"It's not my fault you started gallivanting around with that man!" Stoick said, immediately regretting it. He really needed to learn how to keep his emotions in check. Just as he reined them in, however, he lost them.

"Hiccup! Glad I found you. Could you get… oh, hello Stoick," Toothless said with a smile.

"Toothless? Hiccup, what is the meaning of this?"

"Stoick, I believe you know Toothless. I'm living with him. He's my boyfriend."

"You're dating this monster? I should arrest him on the spot!" It was bad enough that Hiccup had been hanging around him, but now they were dating? Stoick's parental and police instincts were waging an internal war and Stoick's vocal chords unfortunately got stuck in the middle.

"On what charges?" Hiccup asked. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have some shopping to finish."

"How dare you corrupt my son you abomination!" Stoick screamed as he raised his fist. As he moved towards Toothless, however, Hiccup stepped between them.

"Hold it! First of all, do not call me your son. You never cared that much about me. In fact, Toothless probably knows more about me than you do." That line hurt Stoick even more than the first time, but he didn't let it show. "Second, if you touch him, we will be forced to press assault charges. I suggest you think this through carefully."

"Fine," Stoick huffed as he walked off. Immediately after he left them, Stoick regretted his actions once more. Why couldn't he control his temper in front of his son anymore? Sighing, Stoick abandoned his cart and walked back outside to where Gobber was waiting.

"So, decided not to buy anything?" Gobber asked as Stoick got into the car empty handed.

"No, I ran into Hiccup in there. He was with Toothless of all people and I kind of lost it."

"Oh, I'm sorry Stoick." Gobber didn't want to say much at risk of revealing too much. He did promise to not discuss him with his father. "Let me know if there is any way I can help."

Just then, an idea hit Stoick.

"Gobber, you were close to Hiccup, right?"

"Um, sure?" Gobber wasn't sure where Stoick was going with this, and he was concerned for what was to come.

"Can you just keep an eye on Hiccup for me when you aren't driving me? Please?"

Gobber just smiled and said, "Sure Stoick."

* * *

**Just like in the movie Stoick really does care for his son, he just can never show it properly. I hope this answers some of the questions that people have had. And thank you Jayalaw for inspiring this! :)**

**And an extra special thank you for the lovely people that actually read this in addition to the main story. The fact you guys like this idea/my writing enough to read everything is such an amazing complement.**


	5. Twinsane

**TITLE: Twinsane**

**SUMMARY: Barf and Belch are great at pulling off jokes. Sometimes. Inspired by Warrior Nun.**

**CORRESPONDING CHAPTERS FROM MAIN STORY: 6**

* * *

Toothless walked into Katz's Deli at 11am, fifteen minutes before he was supposed to meet Barf and Belch. He had done their money runs for them yesterday so they could go to a funeral upstate, and he was there to deliver the money. He clutched onto the suitcase in his right hand like his life depended on it, and rightfully so; it contained several thousand dollars.

When he asked for a table for three, he was shown immediately shown to a table against the far wall. He sat down and the waitress, a tall blonde woman with hair that reached all the way down her back, took his drink order. He ordered a Sprite for himself and two Cokes for Barf and Belch.

He fiddled on his phone and watched the traffic pass on the street outside of the window he was facing until he saw his friends walk in, ten minutes late. He waved them over and when they arrived they each sat down.

"Barf," Toothless greeted with a nod and a smile while looking at the man to his left. "Belch," as he looked to the man on his right.

"Uh, Toothless, I'm Barf," said the man on the right.

"And I'm Belch," finished the man on the left.

"Hilarious," said Toothless, completely unfazed and sure of himself.

"We're serious," they said in perfect synchronization.

Toothless paused for a moment, but he knew for sure he was right. He had known them long enough to be able to tell the difference between them, he just had to prove it somehow. He knew that their personalities were exactly the same, as were their mannerisms, so he had to get them to choke and confess somehow. He considered just going along with it just for a moment so that they would be finished faster, but his love of a god challenge wouldn't allow it.

Toothless quickly racked his brain and came up with what he thought was a pretty good idea. He knew they both enjoyed causing trouble and pulling pranks (probably why they can put up with Ruffnut and Tuffnut), and they both liked to take credit for their jokes.

"Alright guys, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be mixing you two up, especially considering how amazing it was that you got away with making Stormfly's hair turn hot pink by putting that stuff in her shampoo Barf," Toothless said with a smirk on his face, looking to the man on his right. It was the one prank that Barf had pulled without Belch, who had been sick. Barf had been worried that Belch would sneeze or sniffle and give them away, so he went alone and that made Belch rather upset at the time.

Sure enough, out of the corner of his eye, he saw who he knew was Barf opening his mouth and inhaling as if to speak, but he quickly covered it up by taking a sip of coke. Looking back to who he knew was Belch he saw his nostril flare ever so slightly at the memory, but he also managed to maintain his composure just enough that Toothless couldn't quite call them out on it. So, Toothless moved to Plan B.

"Are those new suits guys?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" asked 'Barf'.

"Are you sure you got the same size?"

"Yeah, why?" asked 'Belch'.

"Oh, well, it's just it looks a lot better on Barf, looks like it's fitted to him more. But then again Barf has always looked a little better in his clothes," Toothless said, letting the end of his sentence drift off slowly.

"What are you talking about?" asked the man on Toothless' right.

"What do you mean?" asked the man on the left to his brother, slightly offended. Toothless internally smirked; they were starting to break character.

"Plus," Toothless interjected, "Barf has always just looked a little better naturally."

"I agree," the fake Belch said.

"I don't!" the fake Barf replied.

"Oh please Barf," the real Belch said, officially breaking character, but Toothless would call them out later; this promised to be entertaining.

"Oh please what? Have you seen my cheekbones? They're better shaped then yours!"

"What?"

"Plus my eyes are a little more level."

"We're twins Barf, we look exactly the same."

"Oh come on Belch, not all identical twins are identical."

"Uh, yeah they are! That's the whole point of the word identical!" Belch retorted, putting extra emphasis on the last word.

"Oh come on! You're just mad I have the better DNA!"

"We have the same DNA!"

"Then why are you so different?"

"Oh you're just mad because I have an easier time building muscle than you!" Toothless stifled a chuckle at that. Neither of them was muscular by any sense of the word. They were just thin, plain and simple. Their legs were larger, but they were still thin nonetheless.

"You did not just go there!"

"What're you going to do about it?" It was at this point that Toothless figured he should break up the fight, before it got violent and they attracted too much unnecessary attention.

"Guys! Enough. Now that we have determined I was right can we get down to business please?"

The men paused for a moment, eyes widening when they realized they had broken character for their little joke. They started to bicker again, but Toothless didn't pay attention. Suddenly he heard a voice so familiar that he was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. Looking up, he saw Hiccup talking to the waitress at the next table over. Getting up from his seat after he had finished ordering, he left Barf and Belch to their argument and started to head over to Hiccup. He had wanted to talk to him again.

Half way over, Toothless stopped. He had noticed that Hiccup had a bit of a panicked look on his face, and he understood why when he looked and noticed who Hiccup's company was. Stopping cold in his tracks, he realized it would be for the best if he got out of there; he would talk to Hiccup later.

He mouthed a quick, 'We'll talk later,' and performed a 180 spin, returning to his table and motioning for the waitress with a, "check please!"

She brought it almost immediately, and Toothless paid the money before turning his attention back to Barf and Belch, who had stopped arguing in confusion. He motioned with his head towards the door, and they stood up and followed him without question. He would explain to them outside.

He picked up the suitcase before heading out, and when he was at the door he looked back over at the table. Just then, Stoick had turned around to look at the table they had just been sitting at; clearly their departure timing had been fortuitous, who knows how Stoick would have reacted seeing them. Outside, Toothless explained to the confused twins.

"Sorry, Stoick and his son were sitting at the next table."

"Got it," they said in unison.

"Here is your money," Toothless started, handing over the suitcase over to Barf. "I assume it was the usual agreement?"

"Of course. You have access to Ruff and Tuff when you need them," replied Belch.

"Perfect, I'll see you gentlemen later," Toothless said as he started back towards his car, taking the long way to avoid passing by the window Stoick would be looking out of.

* * *

**Warrior Nun, I know I promised this way earlier but school sort of took over and I have had an extreme lack of time, so my apologies. Sadly I think that will be happening for the next couple of months so WWC may have to take a small break after the next chapter (which I do fully intend to have up tomorrow). And yes, the title for this was a play off of the DoB episode (or was it RoB at the time...I don't know).**


End file.
